True Love's Tragedy
by Karrde
Summary: This is the second in a series. Ash has told his feelings, but will Misty feel the same? The plot takes a drastic twist that I don't want to reveal.
1. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 1

Misty stood there a moment stunned. It was true. Ash really did love her. She wanted to believe it and she knew it was true, but it was impossible. She slowly walked towards the stage. The crowd parted before her, waiting for her. How could he love her? She had only been mean to him and complained. So how could he fall in love with her? Her pace quickened as the shock wore off and the realization sunk in. She flat out ran to the stage, tears of joy flooding her eyes. She didn't care how. All she knew was that he loved her and she loved him. She leapt onto the stage and kissed Ash, who was still buckled into the chair.

The kiss exploded in her head, and if the machine had been hooked up to her, she knew she would have overloaded it. She had dreamed of this moment and now it was happening. It seemed unreal, like a dream. The perfect dream. The perfect moment. She wished it would never end. The kissed seemed to go on forever, but seemed all too short when it ended. She looked into Ash's face, a face that was more handsome now then it had ever been and whispered, "I love you too." Then they returned from their perfect world to the real one, welcomed back by the thunderous din of the cheering crowd.

Giovanni stared at his videophone, petting Persian while he waited. The video link flickered to life as Cassidy and Butch connected to him. Butch finished fiddling with their portable satellite and stood with Cassidy in front of the video cam.

"You're late," Giovanni said calmly.

"It's hard to find a good transmitting point in Imperial City with all the buildings blocking the signal. Why did you pull us off our assignment to come here?" Cassidy asked evenly. She didn't fear him anymore and neither did Butch. They were becoming much like Delilah and Darian. Giovanni smiled.

"I have a special assignment for you. I want you to steal the rare pikachu that Jesse and James are after," Giovanni said, still smiling his cold smile.

"Why have us catch it?" Butch asked. A predictable question. They were not criminal masterminds, but they would be good enough for the task at hand.

"Because I need someone who can actually produce results and Jesse and James can't provide those," he told them. Jesse and James were idiots when it came to evil.

"Well of course, but someone else can do this simple job. Couldn't our services be useful elsewhere?" Cassidy inquired.

"Yes, but I need you for the second half of the mission. Another team may not be able to stomach it," Giovanni said mysteriously. He smiled his cruel smile again. They were starting to look a bit uneasy.

"What's the second half?" Cassidy questioned.

"Did you bring the package I sent you?" Giovanni asked raising his eyebrows questioningly. Butch pulled out the small square package wrapped with brown paper.

"Yes," Butch said, showing the package to the camera. On it, it said 'Do not open until I speak with you.'

Giovanni nodded his head in approval and said, "Open it." Looking at him suspiciously, they opened it. Within was a slender glass vial surrounded by soft, gray foam. They withdrew the vial and saw it contained sickly green powder. They looked at him with puzzled expressions.

"Within your hands you hold a lethal poison," Giovanni said to answer their unvoiced question. "I want you to use this to poison the pikachu's trainer. He has become too troublesome and has bungled too many of my plans so he must be dealt with." Cassidy and Butch were definitely looking uneasy, but he knew they would do it.

"I want both tasks done discreetly. No one can link it back to us. Do you understand?" Giovanni finished. They both nodded stiffly. Giovanni reached for the cut transmission button but let his hand hover over it.

"And of course, you know that if you fail your lives will be forfeit," he said coolly. They nodded again.

"As you wi-," he cut the transmission. He smiled and the persian beside him mewed softly.

"Not much longer now my pet, soon we will have one dead rodent and one very special pikachu," he crooned to the cat. The Persian purred.

After finally getting away from the tumultuous applause, cheering, and congratulations, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu went out to a special meal to celebrate Ash and Misty getting together. They went to the best restaurant in Imperial City, the Imperial Skyhigh Café. The café was located at the very top of the Imperial Palace, but neither Ash nor Misty noticed it at all. They were together. They loved each other and they knew that the other loved them back. It felt as though it would be painful without the other around, as if a part of their soul was missing. When they reached the café, they entered through two doors made of beautiful blue crystal and emblazoned with an exquisite pattern of gold.

The café was breathtaking. Its walls were made of all glass showing a spectacular view of Imperial City. There were delicate statues of colored crystal and the light from outside illuminated them, giving them a heavenly glow. Soft music played in the background. A friendly waitress escorted them to a table draped with a pure white tablecloth with gold trim and a stunning bouquet of flowers in an elegant vase was the centerpiece. They sat down. The waitress seemed familiar, but Ash couldn't place where he'd seen her before. It didn't matter though, he was with Misty and always would be and that's all that mattered. The waitress handed them their menus and left. Ash and Misty never even looked at the menus; they just continued staring into each other's eyes.

"Ash, look at these prices. We can't afford to eat here," Brock whispered so no one in the restaurant would know that they couldn't pay.

"It'll be fine Brock. Everything will be fine," Ash said in a dreamy voice, not taking his eyes off Misty. She looked so beautiful here. She looked so beautiful anywhere. The waitress came back.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked smiling pleasantly.

"Yeah," Ash said, his voice still dreamy, "I'll have the Number 4 without mayo."

"And I'll have the chicken burrito," Misty said, her voice dreamy too. The waitress continued to smile, but looked perplexed. Brock shook his head.

"Please ignore them. They're love-struck," Brock explained. The waitress gave a knowing smile.

"Well then I've got something special for them," the waitress said. Brock ordered his food, but Ash zoned out. Misty was perfect. She had a perfect face and perfect hair. Ash continued his silent musings about Misty even when the food arrived. He began eating his food without noticing what it was. He could tell it was some kind of meat and it was tangy and spicy. The table ate in near silence, only interrupted when Brock sometimes talked with Pikachu. But Ash didn't hear anything. He was completely fixated on Misty. He was feeling great. His heart was aflutter and he felt as if whatever he was eating was turning to butterflies in his stomach. As the meal finished, he was beginning to feel tired. His energy felt low and his vision was starting to blur with weariness. All four of them stood up to leave, but Ash must have gotten up too fast because he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He grabbed the back of his chair for support.

"Ash, are you alright?" Misty asked instantly, concern in her voice. Ash nodded.

"Yeah, I just stood up too fast that's all," he said. He continued to walk with them towards the exit. But the dizziness wasn't going away. It was getting worse. He was feeling weak. He stopped and managed to say, "Maybe I'm not feeling so good before he collapsed to the floor. Misty was at his side instantly.

"Ash!" she screamed. Brock ran to his side too. Ash's vision was beginning to blur worse.

"Call 911!" Brock yelled. His voice was distant and echoing.

"Ash, Ash! Hold on Ash. Hold on," Misty said. It was the last thing he heard before the darkness took him.


	2. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 2

As the crowd in the Skyhigh Café panicked about the fainted boy, Ash's waitress slipped out of the backdoor accompanied by one of the cooks. She turned to the cook.

"Well that went well, didn't it Butch?" she said. She wiped the lipstick off and smiled. Butch smiled too as he took of his apron and wig.

"It was perfect Cassidy," he said in a raspy voice to the waitress. Cassidy was now taking off her own wig.

"I think that I did get those two something special," she said and gave a cruel laugh. "What did you do with the vial?"

"It is currently being ground to dust in the restaurant trash compactor," Butch said as he pulled off fake fingerprints. Cassidy did the same. They reached the service lift. They got on and pressed for the ground floor. After they were halfway down, Butch hit the Emergency Stop button and the lift shuddered to a halt. Cassidy opened the top access and yanked down the duffel they had hidden there earlier. They disrobed and changed into the cloths they had in the duffel. They finished taking off some minor parts of their disguises before shoving everything into the duffel and closing it up. Cassidy picked up the duffel and slung the strap over her shoulder. Butch hit the Emergency Stop button again and they continued down to the ground floor. When the lift stopped at ground level, they stepped out to see medical personnel and police running into the public elevator next to them. They left the lobby and walked to their hotel.

When they reached their room, Butch threw open the door and they entered. Cassidy smiled at Butch and they exploded into fits of laughter. Cassidy dropped the duffel and leapt into Butch's arms. She wrapped her arms around Butch's neck and kissed him for a well-done crime. They opened a bottle of champagne and continued to celebrate the imminent death of their victim.

Misty, Brock, and Pikachu waited outside the emergency room for over an hour. One of the doctors came out and they all rushed him. "Is he ok? What happened? Is it curable?" they all asked. The doctor said, "It was poisoning. Some kind of mutated cross between many different types of poison powder. We've given him as much of all the vaccines that we dare. We currently have him stabilized but…" the doctor trailed off.

"Doctor," Misty said in a very choked voice, "Will he die?" The doctor averted his gaze.

"Yes."

"How soon?"

"Unless we can find a proper antidote," the doctor swallowed, "three days, a week tops." Misty clasped her hands over her mouth and sank to her knees. "We've asked every chemist that we know to help. We even called Professor Oak but he doesn't know if he'll be able to come up with a vaccine in time. I'm sorry, we're doing all we can," the doctor said. A nurse burst out of the Emergency Room and a lot of noise followed.

"Doctor, he's starting convulsions!" the nurse said, panicked. The doctor rushed into the Emergency Room and they only caught a glimpse of Ash writhing on the operating table before the doors closed.

"I'm going to call Ash's mother," Brock said to Misty before he walked over to the phones. Misty didn't move until Brock came back fifteen minutes later.

"She didn't take it too well. She was devastated," Brock told Misty after he finished the phone call.

"Come on let's go to the hotel, there is nothing we can do here." Misty let Brock drag her out of the hospital and let Ash slip away, out of her fingers.

Misty lay awake that night, unable to sleep. She thought about Ash and the way he was convulsing on that operating table. He looked like he was in so much pain; and she felt that pain. She got up and decided to visit Ash in the hospital if she could. She stepped outside her room and was about to walk to the elevator when she stumbled on the newspaper. The front-page shocked her. There was a picture of Ash and the headline said YOUNG BOY VICTIM OF ATTEMPTED MURDER. It was not until then that she realized that someone had definitely planted the poison to kill Ash. She only knew of one team that would ever stoop so low to catch pikachu. Team Rocket. She could also think of only one place where Team Rocket would be hiding. When Misty reached the elevator, she knew exactly what she had to do.


	3. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 3

James was having a wonderful dream where he was the leader of Team Rocket. He had just counted his two hundred and fifty-second rare pokemon when he was jolted out of the dream by the front door crashing open. The girl from Team Twerp had just entered their house. He quickly stood and moved in front of her wearing his Eevee pajamas and said, "Give us th-." She cut him off mid-sentence by pushing him over. She grabbed Jesse and shook her vigorously.

"WHERE'S THE ANTIDOTE!" she yelled at Jesse.

"Antidote to what?" Jesse asked sleepily.

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ANTIDOTE! THE ANTIDOTE FOR THIS!" The girl shoved a newspaper in Jesse's face.

"Young boy victim of attempted murder?" Recognition showed on Jesse's face when she saw the picture. "Say, James. The twerp kicked the bucket."

"Really?" James asked.

"HE'S NOT DEAD YET, BUT HE WILL BE IN THREE DAYS. NOW GIVE ME THE ANTIDOTE!"

"Antidote to what!" Jesse demanded getting annoyed.

"THE ANTIDOTE TO THAT RARE POISON YOU PUT IN HIS FOOD!"

"Well if it's rare than we certainly don't have it," James said immediately.

"OF COURSE YOU HAVE IT! YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES WITH A MOTIVE!"

"The rarest thing we have is my bottle cap collection, but I wouldn't put it past the Boss to have that poison and use another team," James said.

"WHO? WHO WOULD HE USE!"

"Why should we help you!" demanded Jesse getting really angry. "BECAUSE IF ASH DIES, I'LL TELL THE POLICE THAT YOU KILLED HIM! NOT A JURY IN THE WORLD WOULDN'T CONVICT YOU!"

"Hmmm… Good point. I'd say he'd use the top team," said Jesse thoughtfully. "And the top team is…"

"Cassidy and Butch," said James.

"I TOLD YOU NEVER TO SPEAK OF THEM!" yelled Jesse as she punched James in the head.

"Where would they stay?" The girl seemed to be cooling off.

"Probably in a luxurious hotel that doesn't have any police around," said Jesse.

"Right, let's start looking!" James thought of something.

"Wait! I want to see the twerp." The girl's face softened for a moment.

"All right, we'll see Ash if we can before we start searching for Cassidy and Butch! By the way, where are your pokemon!"

"They're still in the pokemon center. After that battle with the gym leader, they really needed a long rest at the center."

"Oh! Let's stop wasting time and get going!" All three of them left the cabin.

Brock was having a wonderful dream about thousands of girls wanting to go out with him when he was jolted out of the dream by a shock of electricity.

"What is it Pikachu?" Brock asked.

"Pikapikpikachuchuchupika," Pikachu replied very urgently. Brock snapped upright.

"Is it about Ash!" Brock asked Pikachu.

"Pik," Pikachu said shaking his head. Brock let out a sigh of relief.

"What is it then?" Brock questioned.

"Pika," pikachu said making its face look like Misty. Brock quickly got up and opened the door to Misty's adjoining room. Misty wasn't there. The door to the hallway in her room was ajar. Normally, Brock would have thought that Misty had probably left to get breakfast, but the state that she was in at the hospital worried him. What if Misty had gone out? Night was the time that predators came out in Imperial City and if one saw a lonely, defenseless, young girl … This thought terrified him. Brock ran out the open door and into an elevator. Pikachu was just able to slip through the doors before they closed. Brock pushed the button for the lobby and the elevator shot towards the ground. When the doors opened, Brock ran across the lobby and out into the streets. He hoped for the best, but feared the worst so he bolted toward the hospital. He hoped she wasn't there. He hoped he wasn't too late to save his other best friend. He didn't stop running until he reached the reception desk.

"Has…a…girl…named…Misty…checked…in?" Brock asked the receptionist, clutching a stitch in his side. The receptionist glanced at the sign-in sheet and said, "No, and if you want to see someone visiting hours don't start until three hours from now at seven so I'd suggest going home and getting some sleep."

Brock slid down the reception counter. He was too exhausted to continue searching for Misty. Just then, Misty, Jesse, and James stepped into the hospital. Brock got up and staggered toward Misty.

"Misty," he said. Misty noticed how out of breath Brock was and asked quickly, "Is Ash ok!"

"Oh, you mean that poor boy that was poisoned? It was a good thing he came in when he did, because if he hadn't had his stomach pumped he would have been dead within the hour," the receptionist said. They all turned to the receptionist.

"What room is he in?" Misty asked.

"I'm sorry but visiting hours star…" she paused seeing the desperate look in Misty's eyes. "Come on I'll show you," the receptionist conceded. They started towards Ash's room in silence.

Ash was only partially conscious but he could distantly hear the doctors' voices.

"He's starting to become unstable more and more often, at this rate he might not last three days," said one.

"I think we should infect him with another disease to combat the poison. That way we can treat him for that disease," said another.

"What disease could be powerful enough to combat all these?" said a third.

"Chronic lymphocytic leukemia," said the second one.

"Leukemia? Are you mad?" said the third.

"Chronic lymphocytic leukemia creates more white blood cells that will help fight off the poison," the second answered.

"We can't treat it well enough to give it to a person," said the third.

"We can treat it better than we can treat this poison," said the second.

"All right, we'll administer it, but only as a last resort and with parental permission," said the first. The others agreed. Then Ash heard new voices.

"He's still unconscious but he is stabilized for the moment. If he becomes unstable your going out fast!" said the voice of a woman.

"I just want to see him," said the voice of a girl. The voice sounded familiar. It was…Misty! Misty was coming to see him! Ash struggled toward consciousness to meet Misty.

"He's coming around!" said the first doctor. Ash opened his eyes to see Misty's smiling face.

"Hi Ash," Misty said.

"I must be dead, because I see an angel," Ash said to Misty. Misty smiled more. Just seeing her was making his heat throb.

"How do you feel?" she asked. He coughed. The throbbing was getting worse.

"Terrible. But now that you're here, everything seems fine." Misty didn't have time to answer because she was interrupted by a loud 'Pika!'

"Pikachu," Ash said as the familiar furry face appeared above him.

"Pikpikapikachupikapik," Pikachu said to Ash.

"Thanks. You don't look too bad either, Pikachu," Ash said smiling weakly.

"Ash," Misty said. Ash's heart was hurting a lot now and monitors beside his bed screamed.

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" one of the doctors yelled as the receptionist dragged Misty and Pikachu away.

"Misty!" was the last thing Ash said before falling away into unconsciousness.


	4. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 4

Misty was dragged out the door and away from Ash as doctors surrounded him. The receptionist shoved Misty and Pikachu out the door and went back inside. Moments later, she came back shoving Brock, Jesse, and James out. The receptionist led them back to the lobby. Just as they stepped back in Mrs. Ketchum ran up to the receptionist.

"I want to see my son!" she demanded.

"What's his name?" the receptionist asked. Misty led the group out of the hospital. They stopped on the sidewalk just outside the hospital. Misty noticed that Jesse and James' faces were tear-stained.

"Let's find Cassidy and Butch and make them pay!" Jesse said to James. Just then, a doctor ran out of the hospital and up to them.

"Doctor Procter!" Brock said in surprise.

"Yes," Dr. Procter said.

"I thought you should know our battle plan for Ash's condition. They are going to give him leukemia cells to combat this new poison. We'll then treat him for the leukemia. This is only as a last resort though, so we suspect that we'll have at least another day before it's administered." Misty's knees buckled and she fell into Brock's arms.

"Leukemia! Isn't that going to kill him?" Misty asked.

"It will definitely shorten his life span, but he can either die now by this poison, or later by leukemia," said Dr. Procter.

"Anyway, I thought you should know."

"Doctor, tell Ash's mom, she's arguing with the receptionist," Brock said.

"I will," said Dr. Procter.

"Doctor, we're going to try to find Ash's antidote. Try to stall giving him the leukemia for as long as you can," Misty said.

"I will," said Dr. Procter before he stepped back into the hospital.

"That means we have to hurry."

Giovanni waited for the imminent call. "Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Phone Call Phone Call!" Giovanni picked up. The screen flashed on to show a picture of Cassidy and Butch.

"What is your report," Giovanni asked immediately.

"We haven't yet accomplished any of our goals," Cassidy said.

"WHAT! IN ONE DAY YOU HAVEN'T ACCOMPLISHED EITHER OF YOUR GOALS!" Giovanni yelled. Butch and Cassidy both flinched as if struck.

"We have poisoned the boy and he is currently in intensive care. They suspect that he will be dead in two more days. No one can link us to it. As for the pikachu, we haven't had a chance to capture it yet without it looking like we were part of the killing," Cassidy told him.

"I accept that. Get a move on. I expect your report same time tomorrow. By then I want you to have captured that pikachu." Giovanni ended the call without letting them reply. This was good, very good. They had neutralized the boy and were just waiting for an opportunity to capture the pikachu. A very successful day. Giovanni smiled.

It had been hours since Giovanni had called, but Cassidy still felt tense. After the call, she and Butch had gone to relax in the hotel's hot tub.

"Cassidy," Butch said, "How do you think that kid is right now?"

"Considering the type of poison we gave him, I'd say that his heart should be stopping right about now," Cassidy replied. They both laughed.

"I can just imagine what that Pikachu is saying. 'Pikapikpikachu'," Butch said in a mocking voice.

"And that girl will be saying 'Oh please don't be dead I need you'," Cassidy said. They both laughed again.

"You don't have to imagine because we're standing right here!" said a voice. They both turned around to see who had interrupted their conversation. Standing by the door were the pikachu, the girl, a guy, Jesse, James, and Meowth.

"Ahh!" exclaimed both Cassidy and Butch.

"Jesse, I see you're turning good," said Cassidy, regaining her usual composure.

"All, I'm doing is making sure that a heartless killer like you gets the chair!" Jesse shot back.

"Pikachu, thundershock the pool!" the girl said. The pikachu shocked both Cassidy and Butch. When the shocking was over the entire group was closer to the hot tub. The other guy was gone from the group, probably went to get the police.

"TELL ME WHERE THE ANTIDOTE IS OR I'LL HAVE PIKACHU THUNDERSHOCK YOU AGAIN!" the girl yelled.

"We'll tell you nothing!" Cassidy yelled back. The pikachu thundershocked them again.

"TELL ME WHERE THE ANTIDOTE IS!" the girl yelled again.

"We don't have it! We're not even sure there is an antidote," Cassidy yelled.

"If there is an antidote then the boss would have it back at HQ," Butch said.

"Do you two know where the Team Rocket Headquarters is?" the girl asked Jesse and James.

"We can take you there," James replied. Just after he said that, the other guy showed up with the police.

Misty watched the police carted away Cassidy and Butch. Officer Jenny walked up to them.

"We'll bring them back to the station and interrogate them to see what they know. Thank you for informing us about their whereabouts."

"Officer Jenny," Misty said, pulling out a tape recorder.

"Here is a tape that links them to the poisoning of Ash Ketchum." Officer Jenny took the tape recording from Misty.

"Thank you. This should be enough for a trial. Officer Jenny pocketed the tape recorder and followed Cassidy and Butch out. Misty turned to Brock.

"How much time is left?" Misty asked him. Brock looked at his watch.

"Sixteen hours and thirty-seven minutes until Procter said that they would administer the leukemia," Brock replied. Misty then turned to Team Rocket.

"How long will it take to get to your headquarters?"

"Four and a half-hours and that's being optimistic," said James. It was going to be close.

"Let's go," Misty told them.


	5. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 5

It took them fifteen minutes to hail a cab. The cab drove for an hour to the outskirts of town but wouldn't go any farther.

"Onix, go!" Brock called out and Onix appeared.

"We're not going on that thing are we!" Jesse exclaimed.

"You got a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Brock said back. They all got on Onix. With Team Rocket navigating, Onix reached a grove just outside the Team Rocket Headquarters in six hours. They dismounted.

"Six hours!" Misty yelled. "You said it would take four and a half hours!"

"I said I was being optimistic! Keep your voice down or the guards will hear you!" James said in a hushed voice.

"Who's there!" said a raspy voice. Five Team Rocket members appeared in front of them.

"Pikachuuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu thunderbolted the guards.

"Starmie, Staryu, Bulbasaur, Sqirtle, Charizard, Pidgeotto, Go!" Misty called out. Psyduck also came out of his pokeball.

"Geodude, Vulpix, Zubat, Go!" Brock called out.

"Call out your Pokemon!" Misty yelled to Team Rocket.

"Uhhh…Right. Wheezing, Victreebel, Go!" James called out. Victreebel bit James Head. Jesse sighed.

"Arbok, Lickitung, Go!" Jesse called out. James wrenched Victreebel off his head.

"All pokemon, attack Team Rocket except for Jesse and James," Misty told the pokemon.

"Charge!"

They all burst out of the grove. Charizard, Pidgeotto, and Zubat flew off and started making strafing runs on the guards on the roof. Pikachu, Starmie, Staryu, Bulbasaur, Sqirtle, Geodude, Vulpix, Wheezing, Victreebel, Arbok, and Lickitung attacked the guards on the ground. Onix was ramming the door down. The guards on the ground and on the roof were taken completely by surprise and were quickly overpowered. With one final tackle attack, Onix smashed the door down. Inside, alarms were shrieking and hundreds of Team Rocket members and their pokemon were all in the main hall. With one sweep of its tail, Onix knocked out a huge chunk of the Team Rockets. All the pokemon and Team Rockets were in a brawl. Misty noticed that Jesse, James, Meowth, Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung, and Victreebel were all headed down a side corridor.

"Hey where are you guys going?" Misty yelled to them.

"We have some things to take care of," Jesse yelled back.

"Take da turd elevator from da right ta da top ta get ta da Boss's office," Meowth yelled to Misty.

"Thanks for your help," Misty shouted to them.

"Staryu, Zubat, help Jesse and James," she called over all the noise. Staryu and Zubat broke away from the brawl and followed Team Rocket down the side corridor.

"Brock, Pikachu, I'm going to get that antidote," Misty yelled to them. She ran to the third elevator from the right and clambered inside it. Misty hit the top button and she was on her way to meet Boss Rocket.

Jesse, along with James, Meowth, and their pokemon, sneaked down narrow side corridors, stairs, and junctions deeper into the heart of the Rocket stronghold. There were no guards at the guard stations for they were all up in the main hall fighting off the twerp's attack. But after a while, they noticed they were being followed. As they rounded the next corner, they pretended to walk on. The followers were just on the other side of the corner when they jumped out at the chasers. Only to stop short seeing that it was Zubat and Starmie.

"Why are you following us?" Jesse asked. She was annoyed that they hadn't presented themselves sooner. After an explanation from Zubat Meowth translated.

"Dees two says dat dey were sent ta help us," Meowth said in his heavily accented English.

"Well then let's get going," James said, his voice taking an unusual tone of command, "We haven't a moment to lose." They walked on in silence for the next couple of minutes, James leading the way.

"Where are we going James? We should be helping in the twerps' attack upstairs," Jesse asked puzzled. James had led them down here saying he had a plan, but what that plan was she didn't know.

"We are helping them Jess. Here we are," James said stopping in front of a junction. "All right, you head down that corridor and stay right. That should lead you to the stolen pokemon storage facility. Free all the pokemon and bring them up to help with the battle. I'll meet you up there," James told them before heading down the opposite corridor, leaving all the protective pokemon behind.

"But James, where are you going?" Jesse asked him.

"I have a special plan," he called over his shoulder before disappearing around a corner. Jesse, Meowth, and the pokemon ran down their corridor staying right as planned. She just wished she knew what James was doing.

Brock surveyed the battle. They were holding their own for now, but the pokemon were getting tired. The sheer number of Rocket foes they had to face was enormous. He hoped Misty got the antidote quickly and Jesse, James, and Meowth got back from their special mission so they could retreat. Brock watched as Pikachu fried a bunch of enemies with a Thunderbolt, and Vulpix crisped another bunch. Onix took out a whole row with a sweep of his tail. Brock noticed a Rocket standing nearby that wasn't paying much attention to him. Brock ran over and punched him in the skull. The man fell unconscious to the floor. 'Hurry up guys,' he thought before continuing in the brawl.

The elevator pinged as it reached the top floor. The doors opened and Misty stepped out into Boss Rocket's office. The office was brightly lit and almost completely bare of furniture and decoration. The only furniture was a large wooden desk with a computer on it and a leather chair that faced away from it. The room appeared to be empty. Misty then noticed the open wall safe and ran over to it. She looked in it but there was nothing that looked like it could even possibly look like an antidote. What if there is no antidote? What if Ash dies? Misty was starting to panic when a smooth cool voice called.

"Are you looking for this?" the voice asked. Misty whirled to see Boss Rocket sitting in the chair, now facing her. In his left hand, he held a small vial of pale violet liquid. In the other was a small, but wicked-looking gun leveled at her.

"The antidote," she said in relief. Then, remembering who had it she ordered, "Give that to me."

"Or you'll do what?" Boss Rocket said smugly. He was right she couldn't do anything with that gun pointed at her. She had to get that antidote, but how?


	6. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 6

Jesse, Meowth, Arbok, Wheezing, Lickitung, Victreebel, Zubat, and Staryu all made it to the Stolen Pokemon Storage room without incident. The door was locked, but a Double-Edge attack from Staryu reduced the heavy wooden door to splinters. They all crowded into the room. It was huge with racks of hundreds of pokeballs.

"Well, let's get to work," Jesse said walking over to the nearest rack. The others did likewise each picking a different rack. Jesse went down row after row opening pokeballs. The room, as big as it was, was crowded with pokemon. Some pokemon just stood around while others helped in freeing the others. They had knocked over some of the empty racks to make room. They were almost done when a deep voice yelled to them.

"Don't move or I'll AHHH!" the Team Rocket member exclaimed as hundreds of pokemon attacked him at once. Without further interruption, they freed all the pokemon.

"Now let's go get our oppressors!" Meowth exclaimed. As if that were a battle cry, the pokemon charged out of the room. Some of the larger pokemon had to widen the corridor to get through. As they charged back to the main hall, Jesse hoped that James was all right in his secret mission.

James ran along countless empty corridors and stairways until he reached the one he was looking for. MAINTENANCE AREA! RESTRICTED! AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY! DANGER! The door had an electronic lock on it, but with some quick hot-wiring the door opened. James quickly entered and closed the door. The low rumbling of heavy machinery filled these hallways. The walls in the maintenance corridors left the wiring bare for easy access.

James searched among these wires until he found a long thick black one that looked like the power cable. James picked his way through tubes and wires that littered the floor while following the power cord. He stopped only to pick up a large metal wrench before moving on. The wrench would suit his purposes perfectly. After going down more hallways and more staircases, he reached the end of the cable. GENERATOR ROOM! RESTRICTED! AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY! DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE! PROCEED WITH CAUTION! An electronic lock also guarded this door but with fast finger work, it opened.

The generators' loud roar met him as he stepped inside. The main generator stood high before him with five or six auxiliary generators surrounding it. He walked into the main generator's monitoring room and searched until he found a large red button. The Emergency Cut-Off switch. He pressed the button. The main generator went silent and all the lights went out. It was eerily quiet for a few seconds before the auxiliary generators kicked in and the lights returned. James then walked out of the main generator's monitoring room and walked over to two short stumps on the generator. These stumps were the positive and negative power couplings. They were necessary for any generator to run, but if the wrong energy went through the wrong conduit, then you had a real big mess on your hands. There was the clicking of a gun behind him then a voice.

"I thought that one of you invaders had come down here and I guess I was right," the Rocket behind him said, "Good bye." James threw the heavy wrench to the side. Startled, the Rocket fired off a shot at the flying wrench. This distraction gave James just the right amount of time. James' leg lashed out in an old street-fighting move that caught the Rocket in the knees. The Rocket fell backwards and his head hit the floor with a loud crack leaving him out cold. James retrieved the wrench and went back to the couplers.

Sticking the wrench through a mass of wires, he connected the two couplers. He walked back into the monitoring room and keyed for generator start up. After a sudden shut down, the computer would go through a five-minute check before starting the main generator back up. James ran through the doors and up hallways and stairways back towards the main hall. He hoped that they would get out in time.

In the main hall, Brock noticed that all the lights went for a few seconds but the light from the battle showed him enough. They were losing. If Misty, Jesse, James, and Meowth didn't come back soon he would have to retreat leaving them on their own. Come on guys; get back here.


	7. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 7

The lights went out for a few seconds but no one noticed. No one but Jesse. Again, she wondered what James was doing deeper in the heart of HQ. She hoped that he would come back all right. Why did she care so much about him? Could she…no. James and hers' relationship was strictly professional. Still…. No, right now she had to think of the task at hand. They reached the entrance to the main hall after a few more seconds. Yes, time to think of the task at hand.

They lost. All of their pokemon had been better but there were just too many Rocket pokemon. Brock had no choice he was about to call a retreat when a giant horde of pokemon rushed the surprised Rockets from a side corridor. Jesse closely followed the hundreds of pokemon. She ran over to Brock.

"Where did all these pokemon come from!" Brock exclaimed, astonished.

"The Stolen Pokemon Storage room. Has Misty come back yet?" Jesse asked him.

"No. What happened to James? I thought you both went down there," Brock told her.

"He said that he has another important task to take care of. I think it had something to do with that hiccup in the power," she answered.

"Ah. It's kind of nice; you guys working with us for a change," Brock said smiling.

"Ya, we should work together more often," Jesse said, also smiling. That was all the small talk they could afford. It was time to get back to the battle.

Misty and Boss Rocket stood at a stand off. All of a sudden, the lights went out. With Boss Rocket momentarily blinded, Misty made her move. She sprang at him. The lights came back on a moment before Misty slammed into him. The gun slipped from Boss Rocket's grasp and skittered out of reach. One of Misty's hands grabbed for the antidote while the other fended off Boss Rocket's other arm. Unfortunately, Boss Rocket maintained his grip on the antidote bottle.

After recovering from his momentary shock, Boss Rocket tried to shove Misty off. Misty, in a desperate attempt to get the antidote, bit down on his nose, hard. Boss Rocket cried out in pain and released his grip on the antidote. Misty grabbed the antidote. She released her grip on Boss Rocket's nose and ran to the elevator. Boss Rocket crawled over to the gun. With one hand on his bleeding nose and the other on the gun handle, he fired at Misty. Still blinded by pain, the bullets went wild none hitting Misty. Misty reached the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. After a while riding down, the doors opened to reveal Brock, Jesse, and hundreds of pokemon finishing mopping up the Rockets.

"Where's James?" she asked running over to them.

"Right here," James said running from a side corridor, "And we have to get out of here right now."

"No complaints ere," Meowth said. He turned to the assembled pokemon and yelled, "OK. Now let's get everyone outa ere!" All the pokemon lifted up unconscious pokemon and Team Rocket members and carried them outside. The trainers recalled their fainted pokemon before leaving. The remaining rocket members and their pokemon also fled. The stolen pokemon, still carrying unconscious people and pokemon, scattered into the surrounding forest.

"Brock, how long until Dr. Procter said they would administer the leukemia?" Misty asked.

"Six hours and twenty nine minutes," Brock replied tensely. Brock used a super potion on the heavily weakened Onix before they all got on and started towards Imperial City. While they were riding through the nearby forest, the Team Rocket headquarters exploded in an angry fireball.

"What in the world!" Brock exclaimed.

"The generator overloaded," James said coolly. Everyone turned to him.

"How?" Misty asked.

"First I shut off the main generator letting the auxiliaries cut in. Then I simply connected the positive and negative power couplers. I then turned the generator back on and let the computer system go through a five-minute check. When the check was over and everything was fine, the generator reactivated. Positive power went through the negative power coupler and negative power went through the positive power coupler causing an overload," James told them. Everyone stared at him in awe.

"And how did you know how to do this?" Brock asked.

"Do what?" James inquired.

"To blow up a generator!" Jesse said angrily.

"I blew up a generator!" James exclaimed astonished. Everyone but him sighed. James was definitely hiding something but what was unclear. They continued to ride in silence until they reached Imperial City.

"Prep the leukemia injection," Dr. Matthews said to Nurse Margaret.

"No! There's still a half-hour left those kids could be back in that time," Dr. Proctor yelled at Dr. Matthews for the umpteenth time.

"I know that there is still a half-hour left!" Matthews snapped. This constant watch over Ash was wearing away on his patience. "I know we can't issue it for another half-hour we have had this discussion with his mother! I just want to be ready when the time comes!"

Dr. Proctor rubbed his eyes. He hoped those kids got back soon.

Ignoring all traffic laws, the group road Onix right up to the hospital doors. Misty leapt off and ran through the hospital towards Ash's room. Nurses and orderlies ran after her trying to hold her back. Misty ran into the critical care room that Ash was in. Ash thrashed on the medical table. The doctors were just about to start the leukemia injection.

"Stop! I have the antidote!" she cried holding out the vial. Dr. Procter didn't waste a movement. He snatched the vial out of her hands and prepped it. Misty collapsed to the floor from exhaustion, but still crawled over to Ash's bedside. Dr. Procter finished his preparations and walked over to Ash. He stuck the needle the antidote was in into a tube sticking out of Ash's arm. He injected the serum. The entire room held its breath, the silence only broken by Ash's thrashing and the machines screaming. Sometime in between Brock, Jesse, James, Pikachu, Meowth, and the nurses and orderlies arrived in the room.

"I just hope his system isn't overloaded by the other medications we gave him," one doctor said. Ash continued to thrash, and with one last arching of his back, he fell motionless. The machines all gave a constant, unforgiving beep. He had flat-lined. Ash was dead.


	8. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 8

Everyone stood in stunned silence. Misty stood and leaned over Ash using the bed for support.

"Ash, wake up. Please, Ash, don't go. I love you," Misty could barely choke out the last words, "I need you."

Misty buried her head against Ash's body. His lifeless body. She could never see that smile of his that made her feel so good inside. She would never again experience that blissful ignorance of the evil that he always had. She wished that this all wasn't true, but death laughed at her and continued to let the machines drone on. She begged him to come back. He had to. She continued to sob into Ash's corpse and she knew her dreams would never be answered.

But then something interrupted the moan of the monitors, almost too short for Misty to recognize. It was a feeble beat from Ash's heart. Then the monitors continued to cruelly pronounce Ash's death. Then it came again. And again. They were getting stronger now.

"His vitals are returning to normal!" one of the nurses shouted in joy. The entire room cheered as Ash stabilized. Misty now shed tears of joy instead of sadness. Ash was alive. He was back. Ash's eyes fluttered open but no one but Misty even noticed since they were already celebrating his return from the dead. Ash smiled weakly.

"You must be my guardian angel," he said to Misty. Misty grabbed him and hugged him. She held him as though if she let go then he would slip away from her again.

"Don't you ever do that to me again Ash Ketchum. Not ever," she said, tears still streaming down her face. Ash hugged her back.

"I may do that Misty if you don't loosen your grip," Ash said, his voice sounding a bit strangled. Misty released Ash from her death grip and then she kissed him. And it was even better than the first kiss they had at the convention. It was Ash's first kiss of his new life. In one sense and another.

Soon everyone noticed that Ash was awake and rushed over to see him.

"Ash, how are you feeling?" Brock asked, concern for his friend flooding his voice. Pikachu leapt up onto Ash's chest and snuggled up against his cheek. Ash put his hand up against Pikachu's back and began petting him. The doctor's were all asking questions as well.

"How do you feel?" one asked. Ash gave a weak laugh.

"I feel like I just died," he replied smiling. The doctor's wrote all this down in their notebooks and when they were satisfied that they had enough information, they left to consult across the room. An agitated nurse replaced the doctors.

"I hate to break up this reunion," the nurse said, not sounding sorry at all, "but this is the critical care ward. We need to bring Mr. Ketchum to one of the recovery rooms." The nurse disconnected Ash from all the machines surrounding him. Misty flinched when she detached the heart monitor from Ash and it resumed the long constant beep that had moments ago pronounced the demise of her love. When the nurse had finished separating Ash from the equipment, she wheeled him down the hall towards the recovery wing.

"I can walk," Ash grumbled under his breath. The nurse pretended not to hear him. When they reached the recovery room, the nurse left the party in there to continue the reunion.

"What did I miss while I was out?" Ash inquired. Misty smiled, a reaction that was hard not to do now.

"To be brief, we put Cassidy and Butch behind bars, took down Team Rocket, and saved you," Misty told him while unsuccessfully trying to keep laughter out of her voice. Ash sat bolt upright, a look of shock on his face.

"I missed all that! You took down Team Rocket by yourself! How!" he asked still stunned. Misty couldn't suppress her happy laugher this time.

"Well we stormed the headquarters and while Brock and our pokemon held off Team Rocket, I got the antidote. Then Jesse and James freed the capture pokemon and then…" Misty trailed off as she realized that Jesse, James, and Meowth weren't with them. She looked around the room to find them. They were skulking in one of the corners looking rather uneasy. They looked out of place over there.

"What are you doing over there? Come on and join us," Misty said jerking her head to indicate for them to come over. Some things made you automatically part of the group. And saving her best friend and boyfriend was one of them.

Team Rocket seemed to ease up after being invited to come over and join the group. They walked over and joined the group. Ash still narrowed his eyes.

"Ash they helped save your life and take down Team Rocket. They're one of us now," Misty told him seeing his expression.

"Then why are they still wearing the uniforms?" Ash asked them. His expression was still suspicious but less so now. Team Rocket looked down to see that they were still wearing their old uniforms. The two removed their vests with their red R on it and threw them away at the room's door.

"I wonder if any of this is on the news." Brock mused aloud. Ash picked up the remote to the room's television.

"Let's find out," he said flicking on the set.

"-ow let's go to our reporter in the field, Cathy," the anchorman said and the screen changed to the picture of a woman reporter. Behind her looked like a battle zone. Firefighters were putting out massive forest fires. Police were rounding up members of Team Rocket.

"We're here live at the site where just a half hour ago Team Rocket headquarters was destroyed. Reports are still rather sketchy, but it appears that two pokemon trainers and two former members of the Rocket gang destroyed the place. Over one hundred members of the Rocket gang have been apprehended. It appears the police have the leader of the gang," the reporter woman said running over to where two police officers were escorting Giovanni to a police car.

"What do you have to say about your gang's headquarters being destroyed?" the woman asked him. A tall lean man with rather disheveled chocolate brown hair and ice blue eyes stepped between Giovanni and the reporter. He wore an expensive suit that was now rather dirty from being on the scene.

"Mr. Giovanni has no comment," the man said coolly while barring the reporter from Giovanni.

"Who are you?" the reporter asked the man.

"I am Mr. Giovanni's lawyer," the man said.

"Then will you answer a few questions," the reporter stated rather than asked.

"No I need to stay with my client," the man said as he began to walk away.

"A statement at least," the reporter said. The lawyer turned around.

"I will say this. Mr. Giovanni is not the leader of Team Rocket. He is an honest businessman who was on route to a meeting in his helicopter. He saw a fireball erupt in the jungle and went to investigate. That is all," the man told the camera before following Giovanni into a police car. The camera turned back to the reporter.

"This is Cathy Shirling with continuing coverage of this event fo-" Ash turned off the television.

"So was that really the boss?" Ash asked. Jesse nodded.

"That is the boss and that was his lawyer," she said solemnly. The group continued to talk and Ash soon found himself just as close to Jesse and James as Misty and Brock were. They were interrupted when Mrs. Ketchum burst into the room.

"Ash! You're OK! Thank goodness. The doctors said that you had died for a moment," Mrs. Ketchum said as she kissed and hugged her son fiercely.

"Mom you're hugging me too tight," Ash managed to gasp out. Mrs. Ketchum loosened her grip but didn't let go. Brock nudged Misty.

"Jesse, James, and I are heading to the pokemon center. I think Ash would appreciate a while alone with his mother," Brock whispered to her. Misty shook her head.

"I'm not letting Ash out of my sight Brock. And besides," Misty said smiling and glancing over at Ash who was trying to fight off his mother, "I think Ash will need someone here to make sure his mother doesn't kill him." Brock smiled too and he Jesse and James left. The three had trodden on the two Rocket vests that Jesse and James had thrown there earlier when they. The vests now looked broken and no longer menacing. Misty sat down in a chair and watched the struggle between Ash and his mother. Everything was back to normal. No everything was better than normal. Soon Misty's eyelids began to droop. She realized that she hadn't slept in almost three days. She closed her eyes and let the blissful darkness of sleep envelop her.


	9. True Love's Tragedy Chapter 9

James entered Ash's room again to see Ash watching television with both Misty and his mother asleep around him. It was expected though. Everyone had been exhausted after the ordeal at Team Rocket Headquarters and the others were all sleeping at the pokemon center right now. However, James had other things to do instead of sleep right now. Ash noticed him come in and smiled. Ash indicated for James to sit down on the bed. James smiled back and crossed the room. He sat down on the bed beside Ash.

"What brings you back here?" Ash said. Ash's reaction to James' returning was one of relief, but more like the relief of one with a troubled mind rather than one of a bored person.

"I've got a question for you," James replied. Ash nodded.

"Shoot," he said.

"Well, I just wanted to know, what death was like. Is it in the clouds with God and Jesus and St. Peters and protected by the Pearly Gates and whatnot?" James asked. Ash's smile lessened slightly, not much but just enough to notice.

"No it's not like that. You're not really anywhere. You don't think there. You don't have the capability. Everything is just emotions. You feel safe and loved and secure. You only feel happy and that's it. You don't remember anything. Family, friends, loved ones. You don't even remember them. I was only there for a short while before…." Ash trailed off and averted his gaze from James, guiltily. James' smile vanished.

"Before you were ripped away from pure happiness and dumped back here," James said solemnly. Ash nodded.

"And it…..hurts. Not just because I just had a disease, but it hurts when…." Ash struggled to put into words what he felt. So James provided.

"It hurts with every breath that you take and every beat of your heart. It hurts when you speak and blink and think. Everything you do hurts," James said turning away from Ash to look out the room's window. Not really out the window but more past it to something else that couldn't be seen. Ash nodded and looked back up at him with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah. How do you know?" Ash asked incredulously. James continued as though he didn't hear Ash.

"Now you feel guilt because you don't want to be here after everyone did so much to keep you here. It will pass though. And it will continue to hurt, but you'll get used to it. You'll eventually move on again. It will take time but it will happen. It's really amazing what we can get used to," James said before finally turning back to Ash, who wore a very puzzled look.

"But….why…..how…." Ash stammered unable to form a question correctly. James smiled at him.

"You aren't the first to know what it feels like," James said smoothly. Ash's puzzled expression turned to one of shocked realization.

"You mean that you? When? How?" Ash asked him. James only raised his eyebrows in a reply before getting up. He turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Don't mention this to anyone okay? What I told you I mean. Especially not Misty. They can't know," Ash said, finally able to form words again. James nodded but didn't turn. He continued on to the door and left Ash again with his own thoughts. The question James had buried inside him for so long was finally answered. He just hoped that it didn't change.

"Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Phone Call Phone Call! Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Phone Call Phone Call! Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Phone Call Phone Call! Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Phone Call Phone Call! Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Phone-" Finally a tall woman with long, beautiful, cascading blonde hair and emerald green eyes picked up the phone.

"Yes," she said casually. She wore a uniform of standard Team Rocket design but it was blood red with gold trim and there was an emerald green "E" in the center and on the shoulders of the sleeves instead of the usual red "R." Giovanni's face appeared on the videophone's screen, but instead of his usual composed form, he was dirty and disheveled wearing a prison uniform. He had dried blood on his nose, which appeared to have come from bite marks. He looked extremely agitated, unlike the woman in the other end.

"Where have you been!" he yelled at her. Unlike most, she did not flinch at the sound of his yells. She smiled patronizingly at him.

"I don't know what time it is in prison, but here it's lunch time," She said smoothly. Giovanni growled.

"Never mind. Get me out of here! I can't take life here! Everything is filthy and it's terrible. Just get me out!" he yelled in a hushed whisper so the guards couldn't hear. She smiled again.

"Don't worry. Darian has already sent one of our best agents to help you. They should be there in a few moments," she said in a sweet reassuring voice. Giovanni visibly relaxed. Within a few short seconds, the door opened and a tall man dressed all in black and wearing a black trench coat walked in. The man pulled out two pistols and shot both the guards by the door with one bullet to the head. Within another few seconds of thundering gunshots and panic, everyone in the room was dead except for Giovanni and the assassin. Giovanni sighed and began to walk towards him.

"I am so gl-" Giovanni halted as the assassin shot him twice, once in the stomach, and once in the chest. Giovanni stumbled back against the videophone. He turned to the picture of the woman on the phone.

"I thought you said he was going to help me," Giovanni said and he sprayed a few drops of blood on the screen. The woman smiled.

"He is helping you. Helping you to the afterlife," she said smugly. Giovanni gave a look of shock and betrayal before the assassin put a bullet through his skull, splattering the videoscreen with blood. The transmission ended abruptly as the assassin shot the phone. The transmission burst into static as Giovanni's lawyer stepped into the room. The woman turned off the phone.

"Is it finished Delilah?" he asked taking off his tie and undoing his shirt's top button. Delilah turned to face him.

"Oh no Darian. It's only just beginning."


End file.
